Alibaba's earnings nearly tripled in the first quarter, according to Yahoo Inc, a major shareholder in the Chinese company.

Earnings of the world's biggest online retailer surged to $669 million in the first quarter compared to $220 million a year ago, Yahoo said during its financial presentation on Wednesday.

Alibaba's revenue jumped to $1.38 billion, an increase of 71 percent year-on-year.

Yahoo owns about 24 percent of Alibaba.

The earnings report came a week after Hangzhou-based Alibaba confirmed that it is preparing an initial public offering, which may be worth $100 billion.

Lu Zhaoxi, Alibaba's newly appointed CEO, said last week that the company is seeking an IPO in New York or Hong Kong.

Investors suggested that the IPO is likely to be completed by September or no later than the end of this year.

The projected IPO will be the largest since Facebook's massive $104 billion offering in May 2012.